The Golden State Shines Like New

BUT IS IT MAGIC?

You can judge this park by its cover. At the front gate to Disney's California Adventure, just across the way from the original Disneyland, the state's name is spelled out in 11 1/2-ft.-high letters, widely spaced to spread across the entrance. Beyond the logo you see a clever mix of shimmering images: the Golden Gate Bridge (it carries the park monorail) above Hollywood Boulevard and, at the far horizon, a flawless Pacific sunset.

Is this California? Not exactly. You will find no Road Rage bumper-car ride. No Catastrophe California with floods, earthquakes and forest fires. No halls with animatronic Mansons...